Pre-moistened wipes have been used for personal cleaning for numerous years. In order to improve the cleaning efficiency of the wipes it is common to include aqueous based cleaning compositions containing various surfactants and/or detergents. However, cleaning compositions containing water and surfactant are often perceived as being too viscous and lacking a pleasing feel. In addition, pre-moistened wipes using high amounts of water and/or that readily release high amounts of water can contribute to a user having a prolonged feeling of wetness.
It is also common to include various emollients, skin conditioners, thickeners and other skin benefit agents in order to improve the cleaning efficacy of the wipe and/or the ability of the wipe to reduce skin irritation that sometimes results from cleaning. While the addition of such components increases the viscosity and/or richness of the cleaning composition's hand-feel, many skin benefit agents are hydrophobic and require the use of specific emulsifiers and/or thickening agents to provide a stable cleaning composition. Inclusion of such materials into the pre-moistened wipe often results in a wipe that has an undesirable feel; for example, often leaving the user with a slippery or sticky feeling. Thus, it is difficult to effectively incorporate ingredients into wet wipe formulations which will enable it to be an effective cleaner while still providing a pleasing skin feel, i.e. use of the wet wipe will not produce a feeling of excessive wetness, greasiness, and/or tackiness.
Therefore, in order to address the unmet needs associated with prior wet wipes, the present invention provides a pre-moistened wipe which is a highly effective cleaner and that provides both a pleasing initial feeling as the wipe is applied to the skin and yet which does not leave the consumer with an undesirable lingering feeling of wetness, greasiness and/or tackiness.